RC Lens: historic leaders?

With PSG's defeat and Marseille's draw on Saturday, RC Lens had the chance to go top. It is an opportunity that Les Sang et Or did not pass up in Angers on Sunday (1-2), helped by Florian Thauvin's stand-out display. But what do the figures say when we look into the past? Is the first place anecdotic after 14 matchdays, or does it allude to a great end to the season?

A first in 21 years

The Ligue 1 McDonald's leaders after matchday 14, Lens are the leaders for the first time since August 2004; that's 21 years ago! Thanks to this win at Raymond-Kopa, Lens are now averaging 2.21 matches per game since the start of the season. But do teams who finish top on matchday 14 manage to keep their rhythm? In the 21st century, that has happened 14 times out of 24 (58% of the time).

Holding on for three matches = the title?

On Saturday, Lens travel to face Nantes before finishing the calendar year by hosting Nice. At the start of January, Les Sang et Or will finish the first half of the season away to Toulouse. If they complete this first phase of the season still top, Les Lensois will repeat a performance that we have not seen since Christmas 2001 (35 points after 17 games). It is the only time that has happened to Lens, who cracked at the end of the season, finishing second behind Lyon.

Finishing as the "Champion of Autumn" (winner of the first half of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season), is often synonymous with ultimate victory. In the past 10 years, the 'Champion of Autumn' has won the league 80% of the time. Each time, it has been PSG.

Conversely, the last two times that Paris weren't top at the mid-season mark, they haven't finished the season as champions. For the last time that a club other than PSG finished 'Champion of Autumn' and then finished as champions, you have to go all the way back to the 2010/11 season, when Lille won the league.

Lens in the 21st century

If we go even further back in time, we can see that Lens have spent 65 matchdays top of the league since the 1933/34 season. That places them 13th in this ranking, with Strasbourg's 12th place now in sight. The historic leader is PSG, ahead of Saint-Étienne and Marseille.

Matchdays spent at the top of the league since 1933/34
1. Paris Saint-Germain : 515
2. AS Saint- Étienne : 307
3. Olympique de Marseille : 281
4. AS Monaco : 267
5. Olympique Lyonnais : 232
6. Nantes : 217
7. Girondins de Bordeaux : 214
8. Stade de Reims : 166
9. Nice : 162
10. LOSC : 139
11. FC Sochaux : 73
12. RC Strasbourg Alsace : 68
13. RC Lens : 65
14. Nîmes Olympique : 56
15. Racing : 55

But if we look just at the 21st century, Lens are ranked eighth. And they could yet go up two more places during the next two matchdays, if they remain top of the table.

Matchdays spent at the top of the league in the 21st century
1. Paris Saint-Germain : 364
2. Olympique Lyonnais : 204
3. AS Monaco : 72
4. Olympique de Marseille : 54
5. LOSC : 49
6. Girondins de Bordeaux : 32
7. OGC Nice : 31
8. RC Lens : 30
9. Montpellier Hérault SC : 19
10. Stade Rennais FC : 9

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